People consume an ever increasing amount of text and other media daily in different environments and various modes including mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablets. The popularity of mobile devices has had some unintended and dangerous consequences when mobile devices are used to consume content by a user that is operating a vehicle. Distracted driving, the term used for driving while engaged in other activities such as texting, talking on the phone, watching media, using a navigation system, reading content is estimated to increase the risk of getting into a crash by as much as three times. As such, numerous efforts have been undertaken to reduce distracted driving and improve highway safety, like adopting laws banning cell phone use while operating a vehicle, employing the use of hands-free aids and using software or connecting devices to vehicle onboard diagnostics to prevent device use while a vehicle is in motion.
Though these and other efforts have attempted to reduce instances of distracted driving, many people, especially young drivers, still continue to engage in distracted driving behaviors. Additionally, some of these techniques are problematic because the voice recognition software used in a hands-free aid may not be very good, resulting in greater distraction of the user when the device doesn't recognize a command or executes an improper command. Additionally when software or onboard diagnostics are used to shut off a device completely, a user is prevented from using aids in the mobile device such as GPS or playing podcasts, audio, music and the like through a mobile device. As such, there is a continuing need to develop techniques to control displayed content on mobile devices, especially when mobile devices are used while operating a vehicle.